Poems by Henry Van Dyke

All Poems Original Poems Translations

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The Black Birds

Once, only once, I saw it clear, —

That Eden every human heart has dreamed

A hundred times, but always far away!

Ah, well do I remember how it seemed,

Through the still atmosphere

Of that enchanted day,

To lie wide open to my weary feet:

Henry Van Dyke

Katrina's Sun-Dial

Hours fly,

Flowers die:

New days,

New ways:

Pass by!

Love stays.

Henry Van Dyke

Portrait and Reality

If on the closed curtain of my sight

My fancy paints thy portrait far away,

I see thee still the same, by night or day;

Crossing the crowded street, or moving bright

'Mid festal throngs, or reading by the light

Of shaded lamp some friendly poet's lay,

Or shepherding the children at their play,—

The same sweet self, and my unchanged delight.

Henry Van Dyke

The Glory of Ships

The glory of ships is an old, old song,

since the days when the sea-rovers ran

In their open boats through the roaring surf,

and the spread of the world began;

The glory of ships is a light on the sea,

and a star in the story of man.

When Homer sang of the galleys of Greece

that conquered the Trojan shore,

Henry Van Dyke

They Who Tread the Path of Labor

They who tread the path of labor follow where My feet have trod;

They who work without complaining, do the holy will of God;

Nevermore thou needest seek me; I am with thee everywhere;

Raise the stone, and thou shalt find Me, clease the wood and I am there.

Where the many toil together, there am I among My own;

Where the tired workman sleepeth, there am I with him alone:

I, the Peace that passeth knowledge, dwell amid the daily strife;

I, the Bread of Heav'n am broken in the sacrement of life.

Henry Van Dyke

Christ of Everywhere

"Christ of the Andes," Christ of Everywhere,

Great lover of the hills, the open air,

And patient lover of impatient men

Who blindly strive and sin and strive again, —

Thou Living Word, larger than any creed,

Thou Love Divine, uttered in human deed, —

Oh, teach the world, warring and wandering still,

Thy way of Peace, the foot path of Good Will!

Henry Van Dyke

Hide and Seek

All the trees are sleeping, all the winds are still,

All the flocks of fleecy clouds have wandered past the hill;

Through the noonday silence, down the woods of June,

Hark, a little hunter's voice comes running with a tune.

"Hide and seek!

"When I speak,

"You must answer me:

"Call again,

Henry Van Dyke

Dulcis Memoria

Long, long ago I heard a little song,

(Ah, was it long ago, or yesterday?)

So lowly, slowly wound the tune along,

That far into my heart it found the way:

A melody consoling and endearing;

And still, in silent hours, I'm often hearing

The small, sweet song that does not die away.

Long, long ago I saw a little flower,—

Henry Van Dyke

Autumn in the Garden

When the frosty kiss of Autumn in the dark

Makes its mark

On the flowers, and the misty morning grieves

Over fallen leaves;

Then my olden garden, where the golden soil

Through the toil

Of a hundred years is mellow, rich, and deep,

Whispers in its sleep.

Henry Van Dyke

Hudson's Last Voyage

June 22, 1611

THE SHALLOP ON HUDSON BAY

One sail in sight upon the lonely sea

And only one, God knows! For never ship

But mine broke through the icy gates that guard

These waters, greater grown than any since

We left the shores of England. We were first,

My men, to battle in between the bergs

Henry Van Dyke

A Noon Song

There are songs for the morning and songs for the night,

For sunrise and sunset, the stars and the moon;

But who will give praise to the fulness of light,

And sing us a song of the glory of noon?

Oh, the high noon, the clear noon,

The noon with golden crest;

When the blue sky burns, and the great sun turns

With his face to the way of the west!

Henry Van Dyke

When Tulips Bloom

When tulips bloom in Union Square,

And timid breaths of vernal air

Go wandering down the dusty town,

Like children lost in Vanity Fair;

When every long, unlovely row

Of westward houses stands aglow,

And leads the eyes to sunset skies

Henry Van Dyke